Another Lesson in Love
by kbeto
Summary: Sequel to "Teach Me How to Love". Just when Danny thought he had learned enough from Tom, he finds himself being taught another lesson. Rated T.


_Disclaimer: It's only me in this everlasting struggle about not owning a darn thing._

_A/N: I wasn't supposed to write a sequel, but those conversations with __**lozzigurl **__keep fuelling my imagination, because nothing's cuter than Tom wearing alls sorts of hats. You can blame her all you want!_

_For those who doesn't know, me and __**lozzigurl **__(her again, see?) are running a forum for the JML tag, in case any of you are interested in getting closer to the writers and know what's happening in the fandom. You can find a link on my profile as well as on hers. :)_

_I know, I should be updating my other fic. I'll try to get a new add ready this week. :P_

Another Lesson in Love

"She really seems to like him, huh?" Alice spoke from Tom's side, both sitting on swing sets, watching as Danny and Zoe happily worked on giving life to a funny –and sort of disproportional– snowman.

"Yeah, I never saw her warm up to somebody _that_ fast," Tom smiled, eyes intent on Danny, who now had the little girl sitting on his shoulders, helping her to put the facial features on the enormous, white face.

"Not even her own grandparents," the brunette laughed. "You really are happy with him," she added, more like a statement than a proper question, making Tom turn his gaze from his boyfriend and niece to her, his cheeks reddening a bit.

It's been a bit over two months since he and Danny started dating, after all the misunderstanding regarding his 'wife and daughter' got cleared up and the freckled boy asked him out for a dinner. Things seemed like a living dream, where everyday was a new day to fall a bit more for those blue eyes, curly hair and freckled skin.

"You think so?" he smiled shyly, watching as Zoe and Danny high-fived each other, on their piece of work.

"It's a bit too obvious for anyone to not notice it," Alice started swinging a bit, taking her feet off the ground. "Come on, let's join them," she halted her movement, a huge grin on her face, asking Tom to follow her.

~#~

That evening started absolutely calm, both boys relaxing on Danny's sofa bed, tangled around each other and tucked under a warm blanket. They kept leisurely watching a few Disney films, Tom leaning his back on Danny's chest, having his hair occasionally stroked and kissed, something that made him giggle and sometimes even lose focus from what they were supposed to be watching.

"Alice said that I seem happy around you," Tom said nonchalantly, eyes glued to the big, flat screen in front of them.

"Really?" Danny chuckled, the rise and fall of his chest shaking the blond slightly. "Are you, though?"

The teacher skimmed around for the remote and paused the film, before turning to face the curly-haired boy with an overly serious look, kneeling in between his legs.

"What do you think?" he asked back, and Danny didn't know how to take the question, as Tom eyes seemed to burn with something that he couldn't really pinpoint what.

"Please, don't get mad, Tom! I was only–"

A hungry and lustful kiss silenced Danny, as he found his legs being straddled under the weight of his boyfriend, his brain shutting down at the overwhelming sensations navigating through his body, sending sparks down his nervous system.

"Is that enough of an answer?" Tom broke the kiss, licking his own lips and smiling widely. "Christmas is some days away, but I think I'll be giving you your present tonight."

"R-Really?" Danny stuttered a bit, still surprised to see this new side of Tom. "What is it?"

He waited for a reply only to be met with silence. The blond turned off the TV set, tossing their blanket aside and leading the other boy to the bedroom, pushing him on the mattress. Danny swallowed hard when he realised what those actions meant, watching as Tom started discarding his clothes in a pool by his feet, his blue eyes taking in every detail –that included a star shaped tattoo on his chest– in fascination.

"Just say the words and I'm yours," Tom spoke, eyes still darkened with desire, wearing only his boxers.

"I– I want you," Danny blinked twice, watching the smirking blond approach the bed and crawl over him.

~#~

"Whoa," Danny panted, half-laughing with his face buried in Tom's neck.

"You can say that again," the blond rolled on his side, staring at blue eyes and placing his hand on a freckled cheek. "That was amazing."

"You never appealed me as the wild type, ya know?"

"You git!"

Tom started slapping Danny on his bare chest, who only laughed, trying to bind the brown-eyed boy's movements with a hug, and muting his protests with a deep kiss. They stayed in each other's embrace for a few minutes, marvelling on the heat produced by the proximity of their bodies on a cold winter night. Danny could feel a buzz in his chest, something that made him want to scream for the whole world to hear that Thomas Fletcher made him the happiest man in the whole earth, in just a few months, and he couldn't imagine his life without him.

The words were there, ready to spill from his lips, but Danny knew it would be too soon to profess such powerful things in the beginning of their relationship; he didn't want to spoil everything that happened almost like fate.

"Are you going to stay over and sleep with me?" he decided to push the dangerous thoughts away, pecking Tom on the lips.

Tom scrunched his face up in thought, bringing his index finger to his chin. "I wasn't exactly thinking of _sleeping_," he smiled slyly, closing the distance between them with another heated kiss.

~#~

"Hi, Dan– Tom?" Harry blinked in surprise, looking from Tom's barely awake figure to Dougie, who had been grinning in a knowingly way behind him.

Tom's hair gave everything away, spiked in all directions, in a genuinely funny fashion. His face also showed pillow marks, meaning he had just woke up to Harry ringing the doorbell, although it was already long past 11 in the morning. It really wouldn't be hard to put the pieces together, seeing him wearing one of Danny's top –one Dougie gave his mate– back to front.

"Dougie, Harry, come in," Tom rubbed his eyes, allowing the couple inside. "Dan's taking a shower, he'll be here in a minute."

"Are you sure you shouldn't go _help _him?" Dougie elbowed the other blond in the ribs, his action suddenly sobering the teacher enough to understand the meaning behind such statement.

"I- I'll be back in a minute!"

"You are the worst," Harry guffawed, pulling his boyfriend to sit on the sofa bed with him.

"But you love me the way I am," Dougie's lips attached themselves to Harry's for some time, only stopping when somebody cleared their throat rather loudly.

"Morning, Dan," Harry chuckled, cracking an eye open.

"Morning, _loverboy_," Dougie smirked.

"Morning, twats," Danny rolled his eyes. "What brings you two here?"

The couple had just started explaining the reason behind sudden visit, when Tom walked in, now wearing his own clothes, hair fixed in place and completely awake. He ignored Dougie smiling like a loon and sat by Danny's side on the coffee table, facing his new friends.

"Now that Tommy's here we can tell you the good news: we're getting married," Harry took Dougie's hand in his, beaming at the other two.

~#~

Deciding it would be easier to just skip breakfast and just have lunch, the four boys went to a nearby restaurant to celebrate Harry and Dougie's engagement. To anyone outside their inner circle, it would seem like they had been friends for what could be considered forever, when in reality they have known each other for only a few a months, at least in Tom's case.

"We're going to tell Hazza's parents this Christmas," Dougie set his fork down on the plate. "I have to ask them for their blessing."

"Guess we won't spend Christmas together, then," Danny wiped his mouth with a napkin. "It pains me to admit it, but I'll miss ya."

"Hey!" Harry managed to kick the freckled boy under the table. "Now we're really _not_ staying!"

Tom laughed watching their banter, earning the other boys' full attention. For some reason he thought all of that was pretty natural, and was even secretly fond of them not minding sharing it with him.

"That means you can spend Christmas with your parents, Dan," he breathed between his laughter, but soon halting when his friends and boyfriend flinched, eyes wide open, looking at each other.

"Danny, you–" Dougie started, but Harry just shook his head, silencing the blond.

"Was it something I said?" Tom started to panic inside. Whatever was it that he might have said wrong, was clearly something he shouldn't have said at all.

"Thanks for the meal," Harry pushed himself up, "Come over to ours this night, we'll have our own pre-Christmas party, just the four of us."

"Just don't get too _busy_ and forget about the party; I'm sure you two had enough of _it_ last night," Dougie mimicked his boyfriend, winking at a blushing Danny. "Later, pervs!"

Silence fell heavily over Tom as he awaited for some explanation, curiosity eating his insides, the terror of Danny maybe wanting to end things because of a unnecessary comment he made, and that he wasn't even sure which. Plucking some courage, he reached for the large, freckled hand over the table, blue eyes immediately resting on their conjoined hands and then on his face.

"It's okay if you're not ready to tell me, whatever it is," he squeezed the brunet's hand.

"Let's go home, we'll talk there," Danny forced a small smile, not letting go of Tom's hand. They paid their bill and walked back to Dan's flat.

~#~

"And that's the whole truth about me," Danny ended with a sigh.

"I'm sorry," Tom apologised sincerely. "I didn't mean to upset in any way."

"I know, you're too gentle for that," Danny smiled, taking the teacher's face in his hands, kissing him tenderly. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

Although he felt relieved that his relationship didn't get jeopardised, Tom wasn't truly happy, knowing that Danny lost his entire family when he was 10. At such young age, he had his whole life ripped from him in a cursed fire that burned his house down, along with his parents and siblings. With no relatives to take care of him, Dougie's mum battled to be his legal guardian, succeeding after some time that he had to spend in a foster house, time that seemed like a season in hell. The reason why his friendship with Dougie was so strong is that they're more than just friends, they're brothers in the literal sense of it.

"You know what? You're coming with me," Tom sprang from the sofa.

"I beg your pardon?" Danny looked up confused, not fully understanding such sudden reaction.

"You're coming with me to spend Christmas with my family," he grinned. "And I'm not taking 'no' as an answer."

"Are you–"

"More than sure," he gave Danny a single dimpled smile. "Just be warned that the Fletchers get– uh, a bit _strange_ around Christmas time."

~#~

"Dan-dan again," Zoe clapped her tiny hands excitedly in the back-seat, watching impressed as Danny did a few magic tricks for her.

"Sometimes I feel like she likes you better than me," Alice smiled and shook her head, watching the magic show through the rear view mirror. "And I'm her mother, that has to mean something!"

"Nah, kids just like magic. Right, Zoe?" Danny asked the little girl, making a bit of tiny, colourful shredded paper rain over them with a loud pop from inside his hands, much to the little blonde delight.

Tom, who had been driving in silence, just kept stealing some occasional glances, seeing how well his boyfriend got along with his family, and questioning himself what he did to deserve such a beautiful person –inside and out– in his life. Sure, there was still the part where Danny would meet his parents and grandparents, but deep inside he knew everyone most likely would love Danny. Like himself.

Okay, two months weren't too much time to be sure about your feelings and go around talking about everlasting love and the such, but if he Tom was to be brutally honest with himself for a split second, he was head over heels with Danny. The curly-haired boy was everything one could ask in a significant one: caring, funny, generous, cute, _good in bed_ –a traitorous part of his mind added with an annoying laugh, making him wonder if he had been hanging out a bit too much with Dougie–, loved by his friends and family, and all those qualities that made Danny who he was.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Alice's voice brought Tom back to reality. " Your face is a bit red."

"Yeah! I'm totally fine!"

It might have sounded a bit forced, and he could feel both brunets' eyes on him, but he decided to ignore the feeling and inform the passengers of his car that they were already arriving at their destination.

~#~

"They're here!" A short blonde with curly hair shouted, before flinging the door open and sauntering her way to the mini cooper parked in the front.

Alice and Tom got out first, making room for Danny to pass Zoe to her mum, the former getting out of the car to help Tom with their luggage.

"How's my favourite sister-in-law?" Alice hugged Carrie, Tom's sister, profusely.

"Like you have another sister-in-law," the blonde rolled her eyes, hugging back as tightly. "Now let me take a good look at my beautiful niece," she giggled, taking the little Zoe in her arms, who seemed as happy as her aunt.

"The least you could do is greet me first. I've done all the driving and I'm _also_ the one carrying all these bags," Tom bumped one of the bags he was holding on Carrie's bum.

"Jealous of a little kid... Mum will know about this, bumface," his sister passed Zoe back to her mum and hugged him, laughing as she did so. "I missed you!"

Danny watched from the same spot he was holding his stuff, as well as Tom's. The scene seemed kind of familiar to him, as he had witnessed something similar when he first met Alice and Zoe, feeling like he was intruding on a private and intimate family moment.

"Come here, don't be shy," Tom waved, prompting Danny to step closer, almost as he could read the brunet's mind. "Danny, this is my sister Carrie. Carrie, this is my friend Danny."

"Hello, Danny! Nice meeting you!" She extended her hand.

"My pleasure, Carrie. I heard a lot about you!"

"Nothing bad, I guess?" She eyed Tom with a frown.

"Not exactly good things, if you–"

"If you have all this energy left from the trip, then you better help me getting this stuff inside," Tom interrupted, almost pushing all of them inside the house.

~#~

"We're not telling them, are we?" Danny asked, putting his bag down on the floor next to Tom's, going to open the window of the room they were staying.

"I don't think Nan would approve of me sleeping in the same bedroom with my boyfriend," Tom chuckled. "And I also don't want this to be a 'meeting your parents-in-law' trip that could mar things for us; you're here as a family friend."

"Friends with benefits?" He snaked his hand around Tom's waist, placing butterfly kisses on the blond's neck. "I can live with tha'!"

"Me, too."

Suddenly, everything was roaming hands and wet kisses, taking doubled care to not leave any kind of love bites that could put them in a compromising situation. A knock on the door interrupted their snogging session, a female voice –Carrie's– announcing that _"everybody's waiting downstairs"_.

"It's not like we came here to snog each other silly," Tom rested his head against Danny's chest, laughing. "Let's go meet them," he pulled Danny by his hand.

As they descended the stairs, Danny could hear another voices that he didn't recognise among the voices of the girls he already knew and Zoe's excited screaming. The Fletchers were all scattered over the sofas in the giant living room. A elderly couple played with little Zoe, whilst the other two chatted with Alice, Carrie sitting on the rug in the middle of the room.

"Honey, you're looking gorgeous!" A blond woman exclaimed, getting up to hug Tom.

"Thanks, mum. You're looking incredible as always," he let the warmth of his mother's embrace envelope him.

"She's right, you're looking better than the last time we saw you, Son," Mr. Fletcher went to hug his son, too.

"Stop, you two. Try to not embarrass me much in front of my friend," Tom broke the hug, laughing a bit. "Mum, Dad, this is Danny."

Danny promptly shook hands with Mr. Fletcher and then kissed Mrs. Fletcher's hand. They had a bit of a chit-chat, before going to join the rest of the family on the sofa.

"If you're done with spoiling your great-grandchild, I would like a hug, please," Tom rolled his eyes at his Grandpa and Nan, being met with a double hug from his grandparents.

A smile crept onto Danny's face without him noticing it. Yes, he had many family memories from his own family before the fire and with the Poynters, but somehow it felt a bit new to him, to be there in the Fletcher household, being so warmly welcomed when they knew nothing about him. Because, even what they knew –him being Tom's 'friend'– was only a partial truth.

"Danny, those two are my Dad's parents," Tom smiled, kissing both grey-headed elders.

"Nice meeting you," he greeted them and nodded. "And thanks for letting me stay here."

"Don't worry, darling. With your cute face, I would even give you my husband's spot in bed."

"Nan!" Tom's face went through 50 different shades of red, "It only gets worse when gets some wine," he whispered into Danny's ear, who was too embarrassed to hear anything besides the whole family laughing. Maybe he should have heeded Tom's warning about the Fletchers being a bit _strange_.

~#~

That night everybody went early to bed, as they already had an agenda to follow the next day, making the last arrangements for their Christmas celebration in a few days. Tom's family seemed lovable and they made Danny feel like he was family, something that made him cringe a bit, whenever he thought of Grandma Fletcher's jokes. He couldn't say she didn't have sense of humour, as _wrong_ as it might be; she probably would get along well with Dougie.

Feeling his body tired, but unable to keep the buzz off his mind that kept him awake, Danny decided to fetch himself some juice, carefully watching his steps as to not wake Tom up, or anybody else in the house. Reaching the fridge and hastily gulping down some apple juice, Danny took his time to appreciate the many photographies hanging on the walls on the way to the bedroom. One in particular caught his attention, two blond boys with their faces plastered with white paint, Mr. Fletcher in the background, holding a little Carrie in his arms.

"That's my brother, Travis."

"Did I wake you?" Danny's eyes moved up to see Tom leaning over the banister, yawning compulsively.

"No, I guess I wasn't tired enough to sleep so early," he yawned again, making his way down to where Danny stood. "For some time it was only me and him," he reached a hand to touch the frame.

"I know how it feels," Danny put a hand on Tom's shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "I still miss my brother and sister."

"Mum was so happy when she knew she was having twins," He rubbed his nose. "She even thought of naming us Leon and Noel, but Nan convinced her that she _"certainly wasn't winning the brightest idea ever award"_."

Danny chuckled, hearing some more of the happy memories of twins as kids and some at adult age, and unconsciously pulled Tom into a hug, carrying him upstairs in bridal style when he noticed the eyelids too have to keep the brown eyes from disappearing behind them, voice getting groggy with tiredness.

"Sleep well, my love," he placed Tom back on his bed, then climbed on the top bunk.

~#~

"Boys?" A knock on the door made Danny bury his head under the pillow. "Are you ready to go shopping?"

"Just a minute, Mum," Tom called from the bottom bunk, climbing the ladder to wake Danny up. "Rise and shine, Daniel."

"I'm not a morning person," the brunet mumbled from under the pillow. "And I shine as much as a piece of _coal_."

"Would that convince you otherwise?" Tom yanked the pillow off the boy's face, nibbing teasingly on the freckled skin.

"That's some good argumentation skill," Danny smiled, cracking an eye open. "It's a pity we can't do anything _else_."

"Sometimes I really think you and Dougie are related by blood," he added, poking Danny in the ribs. "Mum's waiting, let's go."

In no more than 10 minutes they were both ready to eat some breakfast that Nan Fletcher prepared, the whole family seated by the table, talking and enjoying the meal worth of a king. Danny made a mental note to do some extra work-outs, or he would turn into a ball by the next season.

"Now we're ready to go," Mrs. Fletcher announced, asking the boys to follow her to her car.

The drive was relatively short, and after a few hours visiting many different shops and carrying a lot of bags that would be humanly impossible for one person alone, they were done with their Christmas shopping. Danny wasn't sure why or what they would need all that for, but he resigned to not asking anything, just appreciating the fact that Tom's mum was okay with dragging him everywhere like he was one of her own child. That was a nice thought to have.

"This is when I miss my Vinny the most, he was actually way more excited than Tommy about the shopping," she said, looking at Danny seated in the back.

"Vinny is Travis' nickname," Tom clarified. "Kinda hard to find a nickname to such name," he shrugged.

"And Tom was always more enthusiastic about opening the presents," she nudged her son in the shoulder, making him roll his eyes.

"I told you this family was weird," Tom sighed, prompting Danny to laugh.

~#~

"Good timing, boys!" Grandpa Fletcher bellowed in the distance, axe slung over his shoulder, accompanied by his son. "We're almost out of firewood and we need some young strength."

"Your turn, champion," Tom pushed Danny in his Dad's direction, saying he would take care of the bags with Carrie's help.

With not much of an option left, Danny joined the older man, who passed him an axe and some sort of rope bag, probably to carry the wood back. To his surprise, the walk wasn't as awkward as he thought it would be: both men were incredibly funny, and they talked about many things they had in common, like the football passion and love for music.

"Thomas never liked do come with us to fetch wood," Mr. Fletcher spoke, gazing at the sky as if remembering something. "He would always find a excuse and send Travis instead."

"Like he just did to me," Danny added.

"Exactly like that," Grandpa Fletcher bellowed with laughter, scaring Danny slightly with the suddenness.

Their task was pretty simple: taking the wood from inside a little barn, axing each log in two, stuffing them in the bag, and going back home. As simple as it sounded, Danny soon understood why Tom wasn't soon keen on taking part of that weird male bonding ritual: his body was pretty much aching everywhere after chopping who-knows-much wood, slinging the axe back and bringing it down with one heavy blow. Tom would pay him _dearly_ for pushing him into that trap.

"That's enough, Danny. Let's stuff it on the bags and come back for our well-deserved lunch," Grandpa said, smiling proudly of their work.

"Yes, sir!" He found himself smiling too, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

~#~

"You are the devil incarnated, Thomas," Danny plopped himself down on Tom's bed, feeling exhausted from the long day. "Your family is full of energy, I can't keep up with them."

"You know you're talking mainly about middle-aged people, right?" Tom tried to suppress his laughter, pulling his pyjamas top on.

"And your nan reminds me so badly of Dougie with all those dirty jokes and innuendos!" he pulled a pillow over his face, trying to forget the embarrassment the matriarch put him through.

"That will teach you to take my warnings more seriously," He dipped his head to pry the pillow from Danny's clutch, kissing him. "Now, go to your own bunk."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" he saluted, climbing back to his own bed.

~#~

The days passed, and soon came Christmas morning. Tom and Zoe were obviously the ones more excited about it, as they kept running throughout house screaming, and waking every sleeping person up. Danny reluctantly got up from bed, going downstairs to find Alice and Carrie with bed hair, Grandpa and Nan Fletcher already dressed, and Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher still in their pyjamas and nightdress, respectively.

Eventually, everyone took a seat being handed wrapped boxes with flourished bows and their respective names hanging from a small tag. Every Fletcher was already holding their own present when Tom stopped in front of Danny, holding a box wrapped in green paper with a football pattern on it. His blue eyes grew wide as he understood the meaning of that gesture, and he took the package from from Tom's hand.

"You're supposed to open it, in case you're not sure how to proceed," Tom winked, going back to his own present and revealing a Black and white _ushanka_ that resembled a panda, with two little ears on the top.

Danny tore the wrapping and fished the content from the box: a black _ushanka_ with a steel star pined on the front with a big 'T' on it. He looked in disbelief at the headgear in his hand, then at Tom, then back at the hat. When he finally found the words he thought would be appropriate, Tom snatched the hat from his hand and shoved it on his head.

"Don't complain about it, or I'll buy you a pink one," the blond adjusted the curly hair, smiling as a more sober Carrie came with the camera to take pictures of them opening the presents.

"Aren't they the cutest couple?" Nan Fletcher grinned.

"What– That's not what you're thinking, Nan!" Tom gasped, panic flooding his body.

"Bloody hell, Thomas! Do you think your nan is stupid?" She snorted. "You give the boy something with your initial and you two keep giving each other those stupid grins when you think nobody's watching!"

Tom's jaw fell to the floor, whilst Danny doubled himself with laughter, finding the situation rather funny. Soon they found out that pretty much everyone knew about their status, and the reason nobody said anything was to not put strain on their young relationship, and that Tom would tell them whenever he thought was the right time.

"I'm just surprised how you could just sleep in the same room and do nothing to him!" The elder frowned. "I would start tearing his clothes–"

"Thanks for the input, Nan," Tom cut her in her speech, making everyone laugh.

~#~

The festivities went on with a bountiful dinner and the traditional pocket show, with Carrie, Tom and Danny singing –because Mr. Fletcher insisted– . After a long night eating and drinking, the family started saying their goodnights, the younger ones being the last ones to go to bed.

"That's it for me," Carrie stretched her arms. "See you tomorrow, boys."

"Night, Carrie," both said in unison, receiving each a kiss on the cheek from the short blonde.

Tom snuggled up to Danny, enjoying the moment of intimacy they finally had, the only sound in the house being the wood burning in the fireplace, light provided by the flame and fairy lights on the Christmas tree. Danny wrapped an arm around Tom's shoulder and kissed his blond mop of hair.

"Thank you," he muttered.

"What for?" Tom tilted his head back, trying to get a glimpse of those blue eyes.

"For everything," Danny shrugged. "For teaching me how to ice skate, for allowing me in your life, and most importantly for letting me love you."

"Are you–"

"Please, let me finish," Danny sealed his lips with a finger. "You're the best thing that happened in my life in God knows how much time, and I'm not afraid to say that I love you, even though we barely met. I want to be part of your world, I want to be part of your family," he finished.

Tom kissed Danny with passion, tears rolling down his cheeks as he too professed his love for the freckled boy. He also said something about about Danny having to keep up with all that craziness every year, but only got a deep kiss and laughter as an answer. Because to Danny, some lessons were not be forgotten, some of them got impregnated in his soul, in his very being. Because, that was surely **another lesson** Tom and the Fletchers had taught him. One that he would gladly keep forever in his heart.

~Fin~


End file.
